Sitting in a row of cots surrounded by 90 other Los Alamos evacuees, Tom Switlik realized he should have packed pants.

He was wearing a worn-out, slightly stained, sleeveless shirt that he was given by volunteers at the Red Cross shelter at the Santa Claran Hotel and Casino on Monday. It bore the words "Cerro Grande Fire."

"The best plan is to plan for the worst," Switlik said, estimating he might be staying in shelters until July Fourth.

The 69-year-old former engineer and Navy veteran packed only two bags. One, a small paper sack, contained a pair of shorts, his toiletries and bottles upon bottles of medication prescribed for his multiple health problems — including insulin for his diabetes and heart medication for his pacemaker.

Arriving at 4 p.m. Monday, he was one of the first people to make it to the shelter.

For the most part, Switlik was in good spirits. He told stories to the man lying in a neighboring cot about his time volunteering at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The people around him seemed content, too.

They were still in the "honeymoon" phase of the evacuation process, Red Cross nurse Kit Elliot said. But soon, headaches will start to set in, stomach problems will become a factor and anxiety will grow.

"We're going to feel it tomorrow," Elliot said.

Elliot works as a full-time nurse at a community health clinic in Albuquerque and is getting ready for her nonstop shift at the shelter that will likely cover the next few days.

She said the community has shown a tremendous outpouring of help to the shelter. Shops in Santa Fe have donated clothes and diapers as well as willing volunteers.

Elliot volunteered 11 years ago during the Cerro Grande Fire. She said the entire process from evacuation to sheltering people has been much more efficient for the Las Conchas Fire.

"This is smoother. I don't feel that we're reinventing the wheel," Elliot said.

She will be the only nurse on the premises. However, New Mexico Medical Reserve Corp — a group of emergency medical technicians — as well as Santa Fe Community College's Community Emergency Response Team and Dr. Ben Neal also were at the shelter Tuesday, offering certified medical help.

Neal and other pediatricians from the Children's Clinic of Los Alamos have started a rotation in which each will visit the evacuee shelters around Española during the coming week.

"People are in need," Neal said. "They need their medication, and they get sick dealing with the stress."

Sometimes, the biggest stress reliever is just someone to talk to. Neal and his son Avery are happy to do so. They offer more than just medical assistance.

The Red Cross shelters at the Santa Claran Hotel and the Cities of Gold Casino have all the volunteer power and resources they need right now.

Despite the hospitality of the volunteers and the resources available to evacuees, it's hard to get comfortable when homes are hidden under the veil of smoke billowing off the Las Conchas Fire.

The evacuees were huddled around the television set, awaiting hourly updates. They are sleeping on hard cots with a personal space smaller than the size of a cubicle.

"Everybody wants to go home," Switlik said.

Contact Nico Roesler at 986-3084 or nroesler@sfnewmexican.com.